I spent the afternoon walking around what I was told was called the packhouse. I was amazed at the number of people who lived here, it was like a hotel. The place was stunning and Henrik wasn't lying, everyone was well looked after. Ingrid introduced me to Heather's nanny, who followed us to try and keep Heather where she was supposed to be. Which wasn't an easy task by any means. I was introduced to the Head omegas, Birget and Soren, who both bared their necks to me when they were told I was the Alpha's long lost sister. That was definitely something I was going to have to get used to. They were both such lovely people and they told Ingrid that I would be treated with the same respect that the rest of the Alpha family were given and if not, the offenders would be reported straight to either the Alpha, the Beta or the head warrior, who i found out was Josiah, who had been trailing behind us the whole time. I was also introduced to Josh, who was the Gamma, and who was pretty much the Luna's comfort at anytime she needed. Which Hela said she would explain more to me later. She said she would also explain more about what a rouge was and why some members pulled faces as I passed until they caught either Ingrid's or Josiah's eye, then they hurried off with a straight unreadable face. Once I had been shown everything, Ingrid showed me to my suite where I would be staying for the foreseeable future.
The room was stunning and the main door opened into a matching lounge area to the one that Henrik had first taken me to, which i guessed belonged to him and Ingrid. This room was a mix of magnolia and lilac. The open fire was lit and it gave a warm, homely feeling. There was a door to the left of the room and I opened it to a large bedroom with a kingsized four-poster bed. The purple curtains that adorned the posts had gold lace along the edge, and there was a beautiful purple throw and pillows covering the bed. Next to the door I walked through, there was another door which opened into a large bathroom with a massive sunken bath that could fit four and a shower room with a rainfall shower head that was plumbed directly into the ceiling. The counters were made of white marble. My mouth fell open in shock at the stunning sight. I walked back into the bedroom and found my phone and iPad on the bedside table plugged in and charging. I unlocked my phone to see a barrage of missed calls and messages. I knew they were all from Chloe, as I was supposed to call her last night. Dialing her number, I waited for her to answer.
"Oh My God!" Came the response. "I was about to call out a full search party for you! Where the hell have you been, Kari?" Came my best friend's voice.
"I'm sorry Clo, I had a small incident with a wolf in the forest last night and spent the night in the clinic here." I told her. "I am fine before you go into a full melt down."
"A Wolf!?!" She gasped. "Are you OK?"
"Yes, I am fine." I assured her. "Just a little tired, a lot has happened."
"You've been there two days. What else could have happened?"
"Well, i found out I have four brothers, a sister, a sister-in-law, a niece, and a stepmother." I told her as she took a drink from her mug. When what I had said registered she spat her drink across her office.
"You have been there two days, and you have found your family?"
"Well, they found me," I said. "Henrik Pederson, CEO and owner of Nordic Research is my brother."
"And your father? How has he explained leaving you to go and have a whole new family?"
"I haven't spoken to him about it yet. I can't bring myself to talk to him." I signed. She smiled in understanding.
"It will happen when it happens," She told me.
"I know, Look Clo, I just wanted to call you and let you know I was OK. I didn't want you to worry, but the pain killers they have me on are making me sleepy, so I will call you again soon OK?"
"OK Kari, I am here if you need me." She said, and we hung up. I lay down on the bed, it felt like a cloud, it was so soft and I was asleep in a second.
I woke to the sound of a knock on the door. Yawning and stretching, I stood and went to open the door. Before I could open it fully, a blur flew past me and I found my niece sitting on the couch swinging her legs and grinning at me. I heard a chuckle behind me and turned to find Ingrid standing there with Gloria, who held a tray of tea. I stood back and let them in. Gloria put the tray on the coffee table, bared her neck to us and left. Ingrid and I sat down.
"So I need to teach Heather about the packs in Scandinavia and I thought I would two birds with one stone and teach you at the same time." She said and I groaned. She chuckled. "Henri said it would be good to know this at least."
"OK." I said. "Let's do this, do I need to take notes?"
"No, Hela will remember it and help you if needs be." She said, and I felt Hela come forward.
"Momie, her wolf has pretty purple eyes." Heather said excitedly.
"She does, doesn't she, but shh, need to keep that a secret until Hela shifts." Ingrid tells her daughter.
"OK Momie." She said. I was confused as to why that had to be kept secret, but Hela didn't seem concerned, so I didn't question it.
"So, there are six packs all run by an Alpha and his team." Ingrid said, "We are the West Nordic Pack and we cover most of Norway. Heather, what are the other five?"
"The Icelandic Pack, The Greenland Pack, The North Nordic Pack, The South Nordic pack and The East Nordic Pack." Heather said, and it was the first time i noticed that she had the cutest little lisp I had ever heard.
"Well, that is easy enough," I said.
"Those are the Nordic Packs. There are obviously packs all over the world." She explained. "Then there is the King of Warewolves, who is the Alpha of all packs and sits on the supernatural council. He lives in a lovely castle in Scotland. Below him is the Council of Elders, who pass the Wolfen society laws. King Alexander and his mate, Queen Merida, had two children. Prince Alistair, and his daughter, Princess Laire, who was kidnapped when she was 3 months old. He has been looking for her ever since."
"That is sad." I said as Hela's ears went flat, which threw me.
"Yes, he is still searching for her today. It was 52 years ago she was taken." Ingrid explained.
"OK, so you said each pack is run by a team?" I asked, getting interested.
"Yes," She said. "So, the Alpha and Luna, who are the rulers of the pack."
"Which is Henrik and you," I said.
"Yes, and our daughter will likely inherit the pack when she is ready, that is, unless she is mated to an Alpha and then it will be the twins." She said, rubbing her stomach.
"Why is it different if she is mated to an Alpha?"
"Because she will become the Luna of that pack. After that, the second in command is the Beta, who is Ralf, and the Beta Female."
"Who is the Beta female?"
"Whoever Ralf's mate turns out to be," She said. "He has yet to meet her. Then there is the previous Alpha and Luna who also helps and advises the new Alpha and Luna. We then have The Gamma, who helps to calm the pack and also becomes the Luna's confidence whilst also being a Warrior. That is Josh who you met earlier. After that is the Delta, which aids the Beta with war and other strategic needs. Usually, this is a warrior who has been chosen by the head warrior, who oversees the training of the pack warriors. The Delta is usually good at research as well, so is used to look into previous strategies, lineages and the likes. After the Warriors, who protect our boarders and makes sure the pack is safe from outsiders such as rogues and hunters, we have the Epsilons, who look after the security of the pack, and makes sure that our attack bunkers are kept up to date and secure. Finally, we have the Omegas, which we can't live without. They keep us going with the things we don't have the time to look after."
"Wow, that is quite a system," I said. "Rogues, I have heard that term directed at me quite a fair bit, Hela growls everytime, and the nurse the other day was quite rude to me about it."
"Yes, you are a rogue by accident, your father will explain that when you are ready, but normally Rogues are those who have been banished from a pack or who don't have a pack because their pack was defeated and they didn't trust enough to join another back. We know who belongs to a pack by what we call the pack scent. A rogue has a scent of dirt and garbage."
My head shot up. "I smell like garbage to people! Oh my God that is... I..." I felt her hand on my shoulder.
"You also have the scent of the family." She told me. "Henri wants to initiate you into the pack tonight, which means you will have the pack's scent. It's a few days earlier, but he thinks that it would be safer for you in a pack of 13,000 wolves if you became a member sooner rather than later. It will mean you wont have to have a full guard on you all the time. Josiah will put his two most trusted guards on you instead of having 6 and a senior member on you.
"What!" I exclaimed. I had only seen Josiah.
"That is how good the warriors are here." She smiled.
"When does he want to do it?"
"Tonight, in a private ceremony with just the family."
"All the family?"
"I know you don't want to see him, but this is important to your father, he has wanted to bring you here for so long." Ingrid said, "Magnus is at university so he wont be here, and the twins are both on patrol now that they have their wolves. You will meet Angelica. Her name is Ericka Angelica, but she hates her first name. So she demands we call her Angelica. She is only 10, but she is eager to meet you. She has always wanted a sister, and now her sister is the eldest, she is plotting payback on her brothers."
"OK. What do I need to do?"
"I will come and get you at half eleven tonight and we will go to the clearing and complete the ritual there. Henri will walk you through it all," Ingrid said. "We will leave you for it. Dinner is at 6.30 in the dining hall. Ralf will take over from Josiah at that time, so he will escort you down. Once the acceptance ritual is done, you can roam the house on your own."
"Thank you Ingrid" I said. She hugged me.
"I am so glad you are here." She whispered softly.
Henrik's POV.I had sat there in my office all day, trying to decide what to do. Even Thor wasn't sure what was best to do. I asked Ingrid to discuss packs and the King with Kari so that she was prepared. It would take a few hours for the king to get here, he would come in his private jet. So I knew that I needed to initiate her into the pack first. I would call the King first thing in the morning, which would give him two days to get here before she shifts. Suddenly, my door banged open and my sister walked in, and I noticed that she looked like a mini version of Kari, which made me smile."Ericka!" I said and she glared at me. "I tell you what, I will call you Angelica if you start knocking before barging into my office."She thought for a moment. "Deal." She huffed."What can I do for you?""Can I meet her?" She asked me, kneeling on the chair by my desk."Give it time, Den lille. She has learned she is a wolf and has a big family after 22 years of being on her own. It is a lot for
Chapter Eight - The ShiftI turned to my brother just as Hela came up and spoke to me.'I'm sorry Kari, I can't wait any longer.''Any longer for what?' I asked but I got no response."What is it?" Henrik asked.""Hela said she couldn't wait anymore," I said with a frown."What do you mean?" As he asked, I felt heat rush through my body and screamed out, falling to my knees as I felt my bones beginning to crack and reshape."Sh1t." Came Magnus' voice. "She is shifting."I let out another scream, this was agony."Kari, you have to let go, you need to let Hela control the shift, it will be quicker and it will hurt less." I heard Henrik's voice, it sounded like he was talking to me from the end of a tunnel.'Hela, what do I do?' I asked.'Let the shift take imagine yourself as a wolf.' She told me calmly. How was she so bloody calm? 'Just relax.'I closed my eyes, imagined a beautiful she-wolf, and relaxed. In a moment, the pain and cracking of my bones stopped and I heard a few gasps. I
King Alexander's POVI was wondering about the palace gardens with my mate, my queen like we did every night. Something we started to do after our little angel had been taken from us. Yes, it had been fifty years, and I don't even know if she is alive. Her bond with us never broke, but if just disappeared. Something I had never experienced in my 97 years of life. Normally, when a pack member dies, it feels like a piece of elastic being pulled so taught that it suddenly snaps, and if they are alive, you can constantly feel it thrumming away, it's the same with a family member or a mate connection, but this, it just disappeared."Do you think we will ever see her again?" My wife asked me."I hold out hope," I said with a sad smile as we looked at the rose bush that was planted in her memory a year after she was taken. It had the most beautiful purple petals. I patted my mate's hand which was linked through my arm. She rested her head on my shoulder, and I put my lips to her soft blond h
Kari's POVThere was a knock on my door. I didn't move from where I was sitting on the floor."Kari." Came my father's voice. It took me everything to hold down a sob. I hear him shuffling around outside. "I am so sorry my like peppercorn.""Pappa," I whispered."I wish I could bring your mother back. I wish I could change how everything happened. It broke my heart leaving you, but I can tell you, if my father had found out who she really was, he would have used her to get what he wanted. He would have made her life a living hell, and I wouldn't be surprised if he forcefully marked her. And God knows what he would have done to you." He whispered and I was sure he was crying. I put a hand on the door and sobbed. "I know you think I left you, but I had to, for your safety. I never knew how it would affect your mother. Being human, it shouldn't have affected her in such a way. But now I know, my leaving caused her more pain than I was aware of.""She was a wolf?" I asked through the door
Kari's POVI jumped at his voice, my breath catching again, but soothing out when I felt the Gamma's hand on my knee."Why was she alone?" The man assumed was the King, demanded. Suddenly, I felt myself get pushed back in my mind and I felt Hela push forward. There were a few gasps."Hello, young pup." The King said as he smiled at Hela."My name is Hela, I have come forth because my human is not coping." She said. "There are a lot of stories that you need to know. Please, I ask that you keep an open mind to all that has happened. My human is worried blame will land on the wrong people.""My little pup." Came a harsh voice from the king. His eyes were also purple. "You may be a child of my bloodline, but I take orders from none.""Not even the direct descendant of the moon Goddess?" Hela growled and the King's eyes widened and returned to Green."So the myth is true?""I will explain soon, but first you need to understand everything else. I respect you as my king, which is why I am as
Henrik's POV. I was starting to feel overwhelmed, so I couldn't imagine how Kari was feeling. After we had completed the blood bonds, to not speak of what Hela had told us, and after she had told us she didn't trust the Beta, I even became wary of him. When they completed the new bond to the king, with the use of any type of magic being able to affect it, the Beta's eyes flashed, but then in seconds his mask was back and he agreed to the blood bond. The king also included myself and my father in that blood bond. It was an honor to be included. The king had said we were now family and it was nothing. He also said that it would help with the protection of my sister. I sat back in my chair, everyone else had left, omega's showing the guests to their rooms to settle in, it had been a long night of travel for them, and a lot to process. I was worried about my sister. She had been so strong, and I was waiting for her to break. I was surprised she hadn't done it already, but from what I had
I sat in the pack's garden. They were beautiful, fully maintained, and looked after. I noticed there were some rare exotic flowers as well, including Birds of Paradise, Bull Thistles, and my all-time favorite flower, the Calla Lily, in a number of colors. I watched a number of, I was guessing Omega's, tend to the garden. In front of where I sat, there was a massive fountain of two wolves howling to the moon. Water coming from their jaws. Off to my left was a beautifully trimmed hedge maze. I will have to venture through it soon. I took in a deep breath and filled my senses with the cool air. There was a perfect spring breeze flowing around me. This was the most peaceful I had felt in four days. I knew it all hadn't fully set in yet, and I knew it was going to hit home soon, which scared me.'I will help you. I will always help you.' Hela said in my head when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Magnus, my brother, walking towards me with a soft smile. I returned the smile."I'
Unknown POV.I sat in a tree out of sight watching. She shouldn't be here. This isn't possible. The spell cast on her mother was supposed to kill any possibility of her being able to reproduce. So how was she here? The line of wolves should have been extinct. The son still had no heir and the daughter shouldn't have done either. So how is it possible that I am sitting here looking at a direct descendent of the Gealach (moon) wolves?When she was talking to that ignorant brat earlier, I watched as her eyes turned purple. The only wolves with purple eyes were the Gealach wolves, so it was undisputable that she was one.This wasn't supposed to happen. I was next to take the throne. My son was the rightful heir. All I needed to do was take out the Prince and watch the King and Queen suffer and I would have had my rightful place as the king of Wolves. Now I had to deal with this as well.Suddenly, purple eyes turned on me and looked straight at me. She knew where I was. She knew I was watc